The Svyatogorsk community is located in the Donetsk region, 14 kilometers from the front line, and is currently a zone of potential combat operations. Explosions can be heard here, and Russian drones and guided bombs attack the community almost daily. In order for the Ukrainian army to be able to hold on and not retreat in the event of an enemy attack, they began building fortifications here in 2024.
The project was supervised by the Poltava Regional Military Administration. According to the plan, 21 kilometers of fortifications were planned: concrete blocks, firing points, dugouts. It was around this area that a scandal broke out: People's Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak claims that some of these structures exist only "on paper" and that the money was embezzled.
Journalists from Realna Gazeta found out how dangerous it is to stay in Svyatohirsk now, and whether the new line of defense has become part of a corruption scheme.
Scandalous fortifications
Last year, large-scale construction of fortifications began on the territory of the Svyatogorsk community - dugouts, firing points and concrete fortifications. People's Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak claims that instead of real fortifications, only imitation structures were built that do not meet the requirements of defense capability. He stated that about 200 million hryvnias were withdrawn due to fictitious contracts, inflated prices and "front" companies. Therefore, in order to refute such a statement, the Poltava OVA organized a press tour to the Donetsk region so that journalists could personally inspect the structures.
" As you can see, we are here, and there is no one else here except us. The main purpose of our arrival is to show that the fortifications have been built, they are on the territory controlled by Ukraine. These fortifications were designed and built according to the project, which was developed by the design organization at the request of the General Staff and the design institute of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine ," said Volodymyr Kohut, the acting head of the Poltava OVA.
Journalists asked MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak what he thought about such a press tour. The MP does not back down from his words, but instead says that the organizers need to prepare for interrogations.
He has also voiced his claims to the fortifications built under the leadership of the Poltava Regional Military Administration more than once in videos on his YouTube channel.
“ There is a targeted and clear plan to appropriate about 200 million hryvnias, which, unfortunately, was successfully implemented in 2024. The Poltava OVA took on one of the key areas of work in the Donetsk region, closer to Pokrovsk ,” says Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a People's Deputy of Ukraine from the Holos party.
In response, the acting head of the Poltava OVA, Volodymyr Kohut, assured that the administration supervised the work exclusively on the territory of the Svyatogorsk community of the Donetsk region, and the people's deputy spoke about the Pokrovsky district:
“We are in Svyatogorsk. This is Kramatorsk district, Svyatogorsk territorial community”.
On September 4, 2025, it became known that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine had transferred to its jurisdiction criminal proceedings regarding possible abuses by officials of the Poltava Independent Armed Forces and contractors associated with them during the construction of fortifications in the combat zone.
Previously, this case was in the Bureau of Economic Security in Poltava region. Local detectives suggested that OVA officials, together with contractors, overstated the cost of materials in reports. The documents submitted to the court referred, in particular, to wooden blocks, which in the reports cost more than 9 thousand hryvnias per cubic meter, while the average market price is about 6.6 thousand. According to BEB calculations, this could have caused losses to the state of more than 3 million hryvnias.
On the other hand, Volodymyr Kohut assures that the work was not only completed within the budget, but also managed to save money:
" The work was completed in the winter of 2024. The total estimated budget, according to the design and estimate documentation, was supplemented, because when we arrived to perform the work, a certain situation arose on the ground. We had to adjust some things. The total budget was 381 million hryvnias. According to the acts from the contractor, the total figure was 375.5 million hryvnias. Accordingly, 5.5 million hryvnias that were saved were returned to the state budget ," Volodymyr Kohut emphasized.
Dangerous construction
In the Svyatogorsk community, fortification work was carried out under the leadership of two regional military administrations — Poltava and Khmelnytsky. The work was started and completed almost simultaneously, said the head of the Svyatogorsk city military administration, Volodymyr Rybalkin. He added that building a defense line near the front is not an easy task. During the work, workers often came under enemy attacks. And the amount of work includes not only the cost of building materials, but also the payment of workers and technical resources.
" A lot of people and equipment worked, and large facilities were being built, and this requires cranes and excavators. That is, this is a big job, and we did it on time ," says Rybalkin.
According to him, there were some troubles during the construction: there were injuries, equipment was damaged, and an excavator blew up.
At the same time, the process of transferring the work to the State Special Transport Service is underway. This involves a thorough inspection of each facility - from the accuracy of compliance with the design to the technical condition of the fortifications. In parallel, minor shortcomings identified during inspections are being eliminated to ensure maximum readiness of the facilities to perform combat missions in the event of an aggravation of the situation at the front.
" The work of accepting and transferring data from facilities to the balance of our service is being carried out, the VOPs (platoon support points) are being inspected. There are some shortcomings that are immediately eliminated by contracting organizations. What exactly these shortcomings are, I cannot say. Work is also underway to accept and verify documentation. 2 support points have already been accepted, work is ongoing on the others ," said a serviceman of the State Special Transport Service.
"We used to enjoy trenches in the landing"
Years of war taught Ukrainian defenders to value every meter of shelter. Because at the beginning of the war, trenches in the landings served as shelters. Among those who have already seen the new fortifications with their own eyes is serviceman Svyatoslav.
He gives a positive assessment of the work done:
" In 2022, we were simply delighted with the trenches in the landing, here the walls are fortified, a wide trench, not narrow, that you can barely pass through yourself. It has already grown over with grass, and in the summer it is good, it is an additional shelter. In general, fortifications are created for life, so that you do not dig a hole for yourself somewhere, and here I see that the conditions for creation and the basis, in my opinion, are good. Pull up a net from drones, get settled, and you can repel the enemy ," says serviceman Svyatoslav.
What is happening in Svyatogorsk now?
The Svyatogorsk community still lives under the constant threat of war. It is only a few kilometers from the front line - the nearest settlement in the community is about 10 km from the combat zone. Despite this, more than 2.6 thousand people remain here, although even after the de-occupation in 2022 there were more than 3 thousand of them.
Several families leave every day, some are evacuated through state programs, some on their own. And the danger for civilians is only growing: the community is feeling the blows of S-300s, Shaheds, cruise missiles, and especially "KABs" (guided aerial bombs), against which there is no protection.
" Our people saw practically everything. For example, if we talk about Yarovaya, there is practically no yard there. In Svyatogorsk, there is also not a single undamaged building. Life is a little different here and the actions are a little different. Therefore, the most important issue for us now is evacuation and interaction with the military, who are performing their direct duties on the front line ," says Volodymyr Rybalkin.
In such a situation, the issue of fortifications is very important. If the Russians do start to press, the enemy will face not just a series of shelters, but a complex, well-thought-out system of fortifications, reinforced with dozens of kilometers of trenches, concrete blocks and firing points. This is not only an obstacle in the enemy's path, but also a new opportunity for Ukrainian soldiers to hold their position and inflict significant losses on the enemy.
